The ups and downs of aerial photography

Photojournalism is all about being in the right place at the right time. It gets interesting when the right place is the cockpit of an airplane and the right time is when you're upside down.

Over the years, I've had many opportunities to fly in small airplanes for work. Sometimes I need to photograph a building or highway and show its surroundings. The best way to see a large area is from the air. The world looks different as you circle over it with the window open on a small airplane.

The real fun, however, is when the story is not a building on the ground but the pilot or the aircraft itself. One memorable experience was photographing an aerobatics pilot practicing for an upcoming air show.

Sitting in the front seat, I could shoot over my shoulder and see the pilot, Steve Pennypacker, flying from the rear seat. As he went through a series of rolls, dives, and loops, G-forces caused the camera to alternate between being weightless in my hands and feeling like a cinder block against my face.

Through a 14mm lens, the pilot's face was calm and relaxed as the horizon spun behind him. I've got a strong stomach, but that flight-tested me. By the time we landed I was nauseous and my entire body was tense and stiff. I felt like I had been beaten up. But, I had an experience to remember and a fun photograph for the front page of the newspaper.

For a story on the Greater Boston Soaring Club, I sat in the front seat of a glider as the pilot soared over Sterling Airport. The cockpit was so small I could not turn my body to see behind me. Without looking through the viewfinder, I put the camera on my shoulder, pointing backward, shooting blind toward the pilot.

Another awesome flight was in a PT-17 Stearman biplane during the Race of the Century event at the Collings Foundation in Stow. The Stearman has an open cockpit. Flying in the front seat with pilot Rob Collings behind me was more fun than any convertible hot rod I've been in. It's loud, windy, and fast.

Airplanes are expensive to operate. These flights are over in minutes. I know I have to shoot fast. In the moment, when I'm in the air, I am all business. There are many technical and visual problems to quickly solve, like where the light is coming from as the plane is spinning. Having enough depth-of-field to get the pilot and the ground sharp is a challenge because I also I need a fast shutter speed. Airplanes vibrate and shake, and as tight as I pull my seat belt, I bounce around quite a bit. Simply holding the camera steady is a challenge.

As we descend and approach the runway, my time to make pictures is over. Either I got it or I didn't. Only then can I take a deep breath and enjoy the moment. The pilots I've met love to fly and they love to share their passion. I love when I can share that passion with our readers by making a great picture.